Sparkling Love
by Tatsuyana
Summary: Pierce got fataly injured while facing Vilgax and gets saved by Ben, who seems to have found new powers. While Max and the others go on a mission, Ben takes care of Pierce. Secrets unfold, leading to the blooming of a romantic relationship. Pierce x Ben
1. The Beginning

Hi there. This is my third Ben 10 story, though it is the first one, which is longer than one chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OF BEN 10. I only own the plot for this story.

I thank **Otaku Maiden** for being my betareader. At the moment I cannot think of anything else say about this fanfiction. Enjoy!

Takes place at the end of the episode **Vengeance of Vilgax**.

**Pairing:** Pierce x Ben

**Warnings:** AU, Shonen-ai (boy x boy), probably OoC **(If you don't like any of them, please press the back button NOW)**  
Tell me if I forgot any warnings you think I should list.

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**_The Beginning

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_**

"We were on TV all over the world. So much for my secret," Ben sighed after he had turned back to human. It had been bad enough that Kevin had mutated again because of him and now everyone knew about his secret.

"Well, I used Plumber Tech to block the transmission about half way through. Nobody saw Ben Tennyson," Max said and laid a hand onto his grandson's shoulder. A small smile made its way onto Ben's lips. However, he was still worried.

"How are the others? I know they got injured yesterday," Ben said the concern evident in his voice. Max was surprised. He hadn't told Ben that the kids had been injured. He motioned for Ben, Gwen and Kevin to follow him and led them to the Rust Bucket.

Alan, Cooper, Helen and Manny were sitting at the table. They looked up the moment Max and the others entered.

"How did it go?" Helen asked. They were dying to know how it ended. They hadn't seen the outcome since Max had jammed the signals.

"Ben kicked Vilgax' butt," Kevin stated as he stepped into view. The kids cheered at that. They wouldn't have to worry about Vilgax for a while now.

"Where's Pierce?" Ben asked noticing that the blue-eyed teen was nowhere to be seen. The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly and a depressed look made its way onto Helen's face.

"Guys," Ben asked again. He didn't like that reaction, especially the look on his grandfather's face. Alan pointed at the back of the RV, which was currently shielded from view by white curtains.

Ben started walking towards the back of the RV. He noticed that Gwen and Kevin were about to follow him, causing him to slightly turn around. He gave them a pointed glare to show them that he wanted to go alone. The two of them stopped in their tracks. It was a rare occurrence for Ben to glare at them so they stayed where they were. Ben turned back and slipped through the curtains.

The light in the back was dimmed. Ben noticed a tray with food and water standing on a small table next to the lower bed. He raised his eyebrow. Usually the beds were only installed overnight nowadays, since the space they took up was needed during the daytime.

_What the hell is going on?_, Ben thought as he stepped up to the bed. He was able to hear the voices of the others faintly. They seemed to have a hint of sadness and, in his teammates' case, shock.

Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dimmed light he saw a person lying underneath the covers on the lower bed. He gently pulled back the covers, but let them fall back as soon as he got a look at who was underneath them. It was Pierce and he didn't look good at all.

Ben cast a quick look towards the curtains making sure they shielded him completely from view. Then he turned back and placed his left hand on Pierce's forehead. Closing his eyes he concentrated on scanning the other boy with his powers. The Omnitrix' dial plate started blinking in a steady rhythm, but it didn't take any action.

After a while Ben withdrew his hand, while the Omnitrix changed its blinking pattern into a constant glowing. Ben had paled slightly at what he had learned due to his action. He briefly wondered if the others knew this already.

_Three broken ribs and a serious internal injury. If he doesn't get treated soon he's going to die_, Ben thought with a silent sigh. He didn't want to alert the other occupants of the RV.

'_Your diagnosis is correct_,' said a voice, which sounded almost like Ben's, but there was something different about that voice. Ben's eyes widened slightly. He was surprised. He had experienced too many strange things to be shocked. He carefully looked around the room, but didn't see anyone.

'_On your wrist,_' stated the voice calmly. The voice had a mechanical touch. Ben raised an eyebrow directing his gaze to the Omnitrix.

'_Let me guess. Artificial Intelligence having developed a personality of its own,_' Ben said. He already knew that the Omnitrix could read his mind. Since the accidental transformations kept happening after its recalibration, he figured it out due to the aliens selected by the Omnitrix worked very well for the respective situations.

'_Correct,_' the Omnitrix replied. Ben laughed quietly as not to attract the attention of the others. First he surprisingly had awoken his Anodite heritage, which had happened during the time his parents had grounded him after finding out about the Omnitrix, and now the Omnitrix had developed a real personality.

'_Is there anything I can do for Pierce?_, Ben asked, even though he didn't know if the Omnitrix would answer. At the same time he had no idea what to do. He made a mental note to apologise to the Omnitrix as soon as Pierce was out of danger.

'_Use your mana_,' the Omnitrix suggested. Ben knew that it was suggesting that because mana was present in every living being. That fact would allow him to speed up the healing process, but he had never used mana in such a way. Hell, he couldn't even do half of what Gwen could do, which wasn't really surprising since he had only recently discovered his inheritance of 'The Spark', as Grandma Verdona called it. Speaking about her, Ben wondered what she would say if she knew that he had inherited 'The Spark' ask well.

The Omnitrix seemed to have read his mind again, since it told him that it couldn't get worse. There was currently no active Plumber Hospital on earth and the nearest one wasn't really close either. Ben gave a sigh. He had to decide fast. Using mana to speed up the healing process would take a while and the others were probably already wondering what was taking him so long.

Ben took one last deep breath to calm his nerves. Then he placed his right hand on the spot where he had detected the internal injury. The other hand was placed on the edge of the bed for support. Ben had no way of predicting how much this action was going to exhaust him.

A faint magenta glow appeared around his right hand. Ben forced the mana to seep through Pierce's skin towards the internal injury. He knew he wouldn't be able to heal the other boy completely. So he opted for closing the internal injury, since the broken ribs would be fine healing by themselves.

The minutes passed slowly for Ben. He felt like it had been hours since he had started the procedure, when he finally withdrew his hand. Pierce looked a little healthier now, but he still didn't move. To see the full effects of his actions, he would have to wait twenty-four hours for the final check-up.

Ben raised himself from his kneeling position. The aftermath of his actions kicked in immediately and he felt the exhaustion wash over him. It was a miracle he made it back to the others without tripping over something. He leaned onto the back of the couch to support himself.

"We were starting to worry. You were gone for almost thirty minutes," Gwen stated, not noticing that Ben was a lot paler than when he had left. Ben didn't answer. He didn't even notice the worried looks the others gave him. Instead he only saw the floor coming closer. Everything went black before he met the floor.

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I hope you enjoyed reading it. Critique and Comments are always welcomed ^^


	2. Surprises

Hi ^^ Sorry for the long wait. Internet has been broken down for the past week ^^; Thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate them ^^

Again, lots of thanks to **Otaku Maiden** for being my betareader.

Enjoy

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**_Surprises

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_**

Ben woke up with a headache, which made him feel like he had defeated Vilgax with a head butt. He let out a groan while opening his eyes. The light hurt slightly but he got used it rather fast. Looking around he noticed that he was still in the RV lying on the couch. Grandpa Max, who was apparently cooking something, turned around to face Ben.

"How are you feeling?" he asked while putting the cooked meal onto a plate. Ben slowly sat up seeing that no one else aside from Max was there.

"What happened?" Ben asked rubbing his head.

"You passed out after you had looked after Pierce," Max said with a hint of concern. It didn't happen every day that Ben just passed out looking pale. He had seemed fine to Max after the battle against Vilgax. Ben was concerned about something else. How much time had passed since he had fainted?

"How's Pierce?" Ben enquired trying to hide just how much he was worried. He swung his legs from the couch regretting it immediately as his head started to spin.

"It's a miracle. His internal injury healed within a few hours. You slept for almost thirty hours. Didn't even budge when Manny tried to set you on fire using Alan as a flamethrower," Max said, his concern fading slightly. Ben laughed at the idea of Manny trying to force Alan into being a flamethrower. Though, the fact that he hadn't noticed the Tetramand's doings also showed him just how low his skills in using mana were. He had yet to learn a lot about it.

"Speaking of them. Where are they?" Ben asked leaning back against the back of the couch.

"I asked Gwen and Kevin to take them on a little training mission. Pierce is still sleeping, though he woke two times," Max informed him much to his relieve. At least now he knew that the others, or at least Max, had known about Pierce's fatal injury and that the injured one was doing better. He would still do a quick check on him though as soon as he got the chance.

Max asked his grandson if he was hungry, but Ben declined saying he would eat later with his parents. He didn't really feel like he would be able to stomach anything at the moment. It was one of the effects caused by pushing his limits when it came to mana. He would try to eat something in the evening.

Not much later, Max announced that he needed to do a little shopping trip since they were running out of supplies and asked Ben to keep an eye on Pierce while he was gone. Ben agreed readily since he still had to check on the hybrid. He waited patiently until his grandfather was gone. Then he slipped once again through the curtains.

The view hadn't changed much since yesterday. Only this time there were only leftovers of food and water on the tray next to the bed. Ben took that as a sign that the other teen had eaten something during the last twenty-four hours.

The brunette knelt down next to the bed and repeated the scanning from yesterday. He was satisfied to find the injury healed almost completely. Pierce would still have to be careful, lest the wounds would rip open again. The ribs were also slowly starting to heal.

Ben smiled softly while he went back to the couch. However, he also wondered why he was worrying about Pierce to such an extent. He had to admit that he had felt a strange connection with the older teen when they had first met, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He decided he could worry about that later. For now he had something else to attend to.

'_Uh, Omnitrix?_' Ben asked in his mind while he made himself comfortable on the couch.

'_Yes?_' the device asked back.

'_I wanted to apologise for __tampering__ with your programming. It was a stupid idea and totally reckless,_' Ben said sincerely. At first it had seemed like a good idea. But now that he had had the time to think about it he saw that he had been totally reckless. Not to mention that, Kevin was now stuck in that mutated form.

The Omnitrix didn't give a reply, which made Ben feel a little uneasy. This was only the first apology he had to make. He still had to apologise to Kevin and Gwen. The brunette decided he should use the time alone to plan his apologies to his teammates. They were probably still a little bit mad at him.

* * *

It had been a week since Vilgax had challenged Ben and had lost. Ben had visited Pierce everyday. Luckily he hadn't had to think of an excuse since Gwen had wanted to visit Grandpa to make sure he was alright. She had dragged the boys along much to Kevin's displeasure.

Today they were visiting again and this time Ben hoped that Pierce would be awake during their visit. He had brought along a small present for the hybrid. It was a pair of black wristbands, since the ones Pierce used to wear had been ripped apart during the fight a week ago.

"Hi, Grandpa," the two cousins greeted Max, who was packing a backpack. They had just entered the Rust Bucket. Ben raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting ready for the mission. Didn't Gwen and Kevin tell you?" Max said as he closed his backpack. Ben was clearly confused. Neither his cousin nor Kevin had told him anything about a mission. Max explained that there was some alien activity in Arizona. He had been asked to investigate. Furthermore, he thought it was good training for the kids.

"I want to take Gwen and Kevin with me in case it'll be more dangerous than we think it'll be," Max explained. Ben knew there was something else his grandfather wanted to tell him. He was proven right by Max's next question.

"Your parents have left for a two weeks' vacation, right?" he asked to which Ben replied with a nod. Now it was getting strange. At least Ben thought it was strange. Alan and Cooper seemed nervous, while Manny seemed to have a sadistic look on his face. Helen had an air of tenseness and worry. Kevin and Gwen also seemed to know where this conversation was going.

"Pierce's still healing. Can you look after him until we're back?" Max enquired seriously. Kevin and Manny started to smirk. They knew Ben hated to be left out on a mission. Usually, Manny wouldn't tease Ben, but he couldn't tease Pierce at the moment. This time though, they would be in for a surprise.

"Sure," Ben replied, not needing to think about it. Being alone with Pierce might give him the chance to figure out what exactly he felt for the other teen. In addition, it would give him a small break. He had tried to practice his Anodite powers every time he could, but with his teammates around it wasn't easy to get some time for himself.

He knew he shouldn't be keeping something like this from his teammates or his family, but right now he felt safer with them not knowing about his powers. Don't get him wrong. He trusted them and he was aware of the fact that Gwen would be able to help him train his powers. He hated to admit it, but he was scared that revealing his powers would put everyone into even more danger than they already were in.

It was an understatement that Kevin was surprised. He would have expected Ben to protest and demand that he come along with them. The others were mildly surprised. They assumed that his almost defeat by Vilgax had taught him a lesson about his immaturity and recklessness. Even though they were right about that part they didn't suspect any other reasons for Ben's willingness to take care of Pierce and being left behind for it.

"I'll drop you off at home before we leave," Max offered to break the awkward silence, which had followed Ben's agreement to take care of the injured teen. Ben took up on the offer. So Max got into the driver's seat with Manny riding shotgun.

"Ben, are you alright?" Gwen asked her cousin. He had been relatively silent since the drive had started. Ben's head shot up. He hadn't really noticed Gwen coming over to him, since he had been thinking about the current situation.

"Sure. Why?" Ben responded with a small smile. Gwen was getting suspicious now.

"You've barely been talking lately and normally you would be upset about being left behind," Gwen told him with a hint of worry in her voice. Ben mentally slapped himself. Great. Now Gwen was worrying about him and that was what he had actually wanted to avoid.

"Sorry. I guess I just need a break. Nothing to worry about," Ben claimed hoping it would soothe his cousin's worries. Gwen scrutinized the brunette looking for signs of lying. Apparently she didn't find any as her gaze turned soft.

Ben might not have needed a break from fighting or other physical activities. It was just that he had a lot on his mind. He just needed some peace and quiet to sort out his thoughts. He loved his cousin and thought of Kevin as a good friend, if not his best, but they could be annoying at times. He felt that this was something he needed to figure out on his own.

"Just give us a call if you need help," Gwen said. Maybe she was overreacting. She was still a little worried, though.

"I will," Ben replied. With that, their conversation ended. The others, who had been listening to it, relaxed slightly. They had been worrying as well, since they weren't used to such behaviour from the wielder of the Omnitrix.

* * *

Meanwhile, Pierce woke up in the back of the RV. He had been sleeping a lot, having been awake once every day for around one or two hours. They still didn't know why his internal injury had healed within a few hours. They knew it couldn't be his alien heritage. While his alien species did heal fast, the injury had still been fatal for him. He might never find out, whom or what saved him.

He turned his attention to the sounds around him. There were no voices, not even faint ones. The road seemed soft for which Pierce was thankful. He was sure his broken ribs wouldn't like a trip over a shaky road.

Pierce assumed that they were on the way to drop him off wherever he was going to stay until the others finished the mission. He just hoped that the person, who was going to keep an eye on him, was nice. According to Max the mission could take over a week. For now, all he could do was to wait. Not much later he fell back asleep.

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I hope you enjoyed reading it. Critique and Comments are always welcomed ^^


	3. The First Step

Thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate them ^^ I apologise for the long wait, but this is the last week I have to work on my essay and I was on vacation with my family last week. That essay is driving me crazy .

Again, lots of thanks to **Otaku Maiden** for being my betareader.

Enjoy

* * *

_**The First Step****

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**_Pierce was woken up by a soft voice accompanied by a pair of hands gently shaking his shoulders. He wanted to turn on his side, but remembered his broken ribs just in time to stay on his back.

"Come on, Pierce. We don't want to delay the others on their mission," said a voice, which sounded very familiar. Pierce forced his eyes open in order to see, who was disturbing his sleep. He had to blink several times to make sure he was seeing right. Ben was hunched above him with a small smile plastered on his lips.

"You're going to stay with me until the others finish the mission," Ben stated seeing the other teen's questioning look. To hear that made Pierce feel relieved. At least he was going to stay with someone he liked. It would still be boring, though, considering he had to stay in bed. He ribs would need at least two weeks to heal completely, if he was going to take it easy.

Pierce tried to sit up on his own. He soon noticed that it was a bad idea to try that. Small amounts of stabbing pain shot through his ribs causing him to sink back on the bed. Ben was at his side immediately.

"Take it easy. Your ribs are still healing," Ben exclaimed as he helped the other boy up. Pierce made an agreeing noise. It took them a few minutes to get Pierce into a standing position. He had to lean on Ben in order to remain on his feet. The younger teen supported him fire fighter style.

The two of them slowly made their way out of the RV, where the others were waiting. Ben was careful not to touch Pierce's broken ribs. As a result, Ben had his left arm trapped around the other's waist, which had him blushing slightly.

It was beyond him why it made him feel embarrassed. It wasn't the first time he found himself in the position of helping an injured person walk. He tried to fight the blush down before they stepped out of the RV. To his relieve, he succeeded.

Max enquired if the boys needed anything to which Ben said no. His parents had made a shopping trip before they had left yesterday. Gwen teased him by telling him not to cause any trouble. Her cousin reacted with pretending to be offended. After everyone had said their goodbyes, Max and the kids left leaving Ben and Pierce standing on front of Ben's house.

"Come on. Let's get you settled in," Ben commented as the two of them walked towards the house. Pierce didn't answer. He was too busy taking a look around. He had never been to Ben's home before. Ben unlocked the door and kicked it open with his leg. Then he directed Pierce to the couch and let him sit down on it.

Ben told him that he was going to make some lunch for them and asked if there was something he wanted. The blue-eyed teen replied that anything was fine at the moment. Ben told him to feel at home and went to the kitchen leaving Pierce to himself.

Pierce watched Ben until he was out of sight. He let himself sink back into the couch relaxing visibly. Now that he was alone, a strange feeling made itself known. He hadn't noticed it before. He felt warm causing him to feel his forehead. No fever. He had no idea what this feeling was. If the warmth wasn't caused by fever, what was it then? Never had he felt something like this before. He let his mind sink further into this mystery.

At the same time Ben had his own jigsaw to deal with. However, he wasn't entirely able to focus on the problem since he didn't want the meal to get burnt. He had the feeling that the next few days were going to be interesting and would bring him some insight on what was happening with him.

Ben refocused on the meal he was cooking. He really needed to find out what Pierce liked if he didn't want to put his foot in it with him. For today's lunch he had chosen a simple meal consisting of mashed potatoes and a mixture of different vegetables.

The meal was finish fifteen minutes later. Ben fetched two plates and divided the meal evenly on them. He set them down on the kitchen table. Then he put the cooking equipment into the sink and got cutlery for them. Picking up the plates again he went back into the living room.

Pierce was ripped from his thoughts when a plate with food was placed in front of him. He looked up to see Ben, who took a seat next to him and placed his own plate on the table. Then he handed Pierce his cutlery putting his own next to his plate.

"You can cook?" Pierce asked surprised. Ben didn't strike him as the type, who could cook. Ben scratched his cheeks. Both of them were tainted in a faint pink.

_Cute_, Pierce thought. A second later he realised what he had thought. Did he really just think that the younger teen was cute? He shook his head to clear his mind. The boredom must have been getting to him.

"I can only cook simple meals," Ben commented fixing his gaze on the plate in front of him. He had only learned to cook because his parents trusted him to be left alone at home for more than a day. He might have loved chilli fries, but it wasn't something he could eat every day.

The meal was spent talking about practically everything. Ben found out that Pierce's favourite food was peach while Pierce discovered that Ben had a nice sense of humour. They also talked about their respective male teammates, who both seemed to have problems asking out the girl they liked.

Ben did the dishes after they had finished lunch. The rest of the day passed with them talking about stuff and getting to know each other. Ben also explained to Pierce where everything was in the house. The day passed rather peacefully. Toward evening, the issue of sleeping arrangement arose.

"You can have my bed," Ben declared. There was no way he would let Pierce sleep on the couch. Pierce was about to protest, but Ben beat him to it.

"I'll get myself a mattress. You need to be comfortable if you want to heal fine," Ben said. He had protested often enough when being sick to the signs. Suddenly he remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package. He handed it to Pierce, who took it with an arched eyebrow.

Pierce opened it carefully. A pair of black wristbands was revealed. They looked exactly like his old ones. He tried them on and found that they fit perfectly.

"I thought you might want new ones. They're made of an alien substance, which is pretty stable. They're for protection," Ben remarked. Pierce's eyes lit up. He already loved them. They protected his wrists better than his old ones and he could hide small weapons underneath them.

"Thanks. They're great," Pierce said sincerely earning a big smile from Ben. The brunette cleaned up everything before he helped Pierce climb up the stairs. He brought the older teen to his room and gave him one of his pyjamas. Then he left the room to get himself a mattress and give Pierce some privacy. Ben chose to use the bathroom to change into his night wear. They fell asleep not long after they had settled in.

* * *

Pierce spent the first three days in bed, which was very boring. Ben spent every minute he could with Pierce. He knew very well how boring it was to be bound to the bed. Luckily, today had been the last day of school. Now, Ben had no school for the next two weeks. He had just returned from school, having done some shopping on his way home. He took the shopping straight to the kitchen.

When Ben entered his bedroom he found Pierce asleep, like on the past two days when he had returned from school. Usually, he would wake him up, but today he wanted to check up on his injuries. He gently placed his left hand on the hybrid's chest. Closing his eyes, he started to force his mana through Pierce's skin.

Pierce woke up with a strange feeling in his chest area. It was strange, but it felt good. It felt like a gentle, caring touch. He blinked his eyes open. It took a while until he was able to see clearly. What he saw made him feel confused. He definitively hadn't expected to see Ben leaning over him.

Ben seemed oblivious to his surroundings as he hadn't Pierce waking up. He studied the younger teen. His closed eyes didn't hide the look of concentration. Pierce noted the way Ben's eyebrows were knitted in concentration. His gaze travelled down Bens' face over his shoulders and down his left arm.

Finally his eyes landed on Ben's left hand. It was surrounded by a magenta coloured glow. Pierce knew he had seen this kind of glow before. Then he recognised it as the glow Gwen had when using her Anodite powers. The recognition caused him to gasp in surprise ripping Ben from his concentration.

Ben's head snapped around in shock. He hadn't expected for Pierce to wake up. His mind was racing. What should he do now? He hadn't wanted for Pierce to see him using his powers. He couldn't move. He withdrew his hand, but Pierce grabbed it. He wanted to know what was going on.

"Ben?" Pierce asked seeing the frightened look on the younger boy's face. What had scared him? It was strange to see Ben frightened. He was usually very strong. Could it be that Ben was scared of him? Pierce felt uncomfortable at the thought of Ben being scared of him.

"I'm sorry," Ben said with a shaky voice. Pierce's touch was soothing and calming. He was torn between fear of being hated for keeping his powers a secret and hope of finding understanding in the older teen. What would be the case? Rejection or acceptance?

The minutes ticked away. Ben's hitched breath became steady again and his faint shivering stopped. He felt slight exhaustion wash over him. Using his powers combined with the shock he had just received had been a little too much at once for him.

"It was you who healed my fatal injury," Pierce stated piecing everything together. The feeling he had felt when Ben had scanned him had been the same he had felt after waking up for the first time after he had received the fatal injury.

Ben, who had calmed down a little by now, answered with a nod. He didn't trust his voice yet. He was already forming sentences in his mind, which would help him explain his reasons in case Pierce asked for them. He knew he would have to word his phrases carefully he wanted them to stay friends.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Pierce asked sounding curious and pleading. He wasn't mad at him, more like hurt that Ben didn't trust him. Pierce wanted Ben to confide in him so that he could be there for the younger teen and support him. Why was that? Why did he feel so drawn to the green-eyed hero?

"I was afraid," Ben admitted feebly. He avoided Pierce's gaze. It already cost him a lot of willpower to admit that he was afraid. He didn't want to see the rejection that might be reflected in the other boy's eyes.

"Tell me. I'll listen," Pierce pleaded squeezing Ben's hand in order to reassure him. It seemed to do the trick, since Ben seemed to have calmed down completely now. Ben looked down and Pierce followed his gaze noticing that he was still holding the brunette's hand. He let go immediately, although hesitantly, with a faint blush tainting his cheeks.

Ben missed the warmth Pierce's hand had emitted. What was wrong with him? First he had been worrying like hell about Pierce and now he longed for his touch. He mentally shook his head. He could think about that issue later. For now he had to explain the situation to Pierce.

* * *

_Ben was sitting in his. His parents had just grounded him. He had been able to entertain himself for the first two hours, but now boredom had taken over. His chair was the current object of his boredom. The brunette had been staring at it for at least twenty minutes._

_Suddenly, there was a spark of magenta at the back of his chair. Ben blinked. What the hell had that been? He continued to stare at his chair. There it was again. Only this time it was a little bigger, but still almost unnoticeable. _

_Ben, having nothing better to do, started to concentrate on the spot where the sparks had appeared. It was better than doing nothing and it wasn't like strange things never happened around him. A few minutes later the spark appeared again. This time it stayed. The more Ben concentrated on it the larger it became. After a while there was a circle with a four centimetres/two inch diameter on the back of his chair._

_He recognised that shade of magenta. It was the same shade as the colour of Gwen's Anodite powers. Ben couldn't really believe what he was seeing. He started to experiment with his discovery. An hour later of focusing and experimenting, his chair was floating in the air enveloped in a magenta coloured glow.__

* * *

_After Ben had finished telling Pierce about how he had discovered his powers, he explained why he hadn't told anyone. Pierce was silent for a while. He needed to let everything sink in before he said anything. He didn't want to say the wrong thing.

"I'm able to sympathize with your reasons, but I still wish you would've told me earlier. I'm your friend, you can trust me," Pierce said gently. He really wanted Ben to trust him, just like he trusted Ben. He didn't know why, but he felt connected with Ben. He wanted to help him and be there for him. Maybe he would find out why he felt that way, maybe not. Right now he just wanted to support Ben.

* * *

Well, that was the third chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. As always, comments and critique are welcomed ^^


	4. First Signs For Trouble

Thanks again for the reviews. I really appreciate them ^^ I apologise for the long wait, but school is driving me crazy. Unfortunately, I won't be able to update until July because of school. I'm really sorry .

Again, lots of thanks to **Otaku Maiden** for being my betareader.

Enjoy

* * *

_**First Signs For Trouble**_

* * *

It had been another two days since Pierce had found out about Ben's Anodite powers. Right now, he was sitting on a chair in the garden watching Ben's training. He was able to leave the bed since yesterday, but he was still forbidden from doing too much. When Pierce had stepped into the garden a few minutes ago, Ben had already been training for quite a while.

Currently, Ben was trying to hit the targets he had installed. The targets were round plates made of an alien substance, which were installed at different heights with the help of wooden sticks. At the present time, the distance between him and the targets was fifty feet. The targets were able to resist the hits. So they were knocked over instead of destroyed.

Pierce was watching Ben intently. He didn't know why, but he found it hard to look away. Apparently the younger boy had also been doing some physical exercise. He could see the glistening sweat running down Ben's throat. The green jacket had been discarded prior to Pierce's arrival and was lying on the grass.

"How are you feeling today?" Ben enquired as he walked over to Pierce. He had been training for over two hours now. He needed a break.

"I'm feeling fine, but it still hurts when I move to fast," Pierce replied with a smile. He felt happy knowing that Ben cared about him. Ben returned the smile with one of his own.

"By the way, I got a message from the others. They are doing fine so far," Ben informed the other boy.

"That's good to hear," Pierce replied to the piece of information. Ben excused himself in order to get drinks for them. A few minutes later he was back with two glasses and a bottle of water. He filled the glasses and placed the bottle on the small table next to Pierce's chair.

The past few days had been relaxing for both of them. Pierce was able to heal in peace without Manny trying to pick a fight with him. He didn't really mind the fights with the Tetramand, but he preferred peace when he needed to recover from injuries. Ben was also glad about the peace. He was finally able to train his powers without having to hold back. Additionally to that, a weight had been lifted from his shoulders after he had confided in Pierce.

_He's actually pretty handsome_, Ben thought, blushing slightly as he watched Pierce empty his glass of water. Ben almost choked when he realised what he had thought. Though, he couldn't deny that Pierce was indeed handsome. At the same time he asked himself if it wasn't strange for him to think of another guy as handsome. He shook his head to get rid of these thoughts. Making sure that Pierce recovered well was more important.

"You alright?" Pierce asked him since he had noticed Ben shaking his head. It worried him a little. He had watched the younger one secretly and had seen him shaking his head quite often lately.

"Yeah. Just trying to get my head clear," Ben answered, hoping he sounded convincing. Pierce eyed him critically for a moment before he softened his gaze. He still had the feeling that something was on Ben's mind, but he decided not to push it.

* * *

They had just finished lunch and now Ben was doing the dishes. Pierce was still sitting on the couch. It didn't take Ben long to finish the chores. Then he came back into the living room and told Pierce to lie down. Pierce did as he was told and Ben scanned him to check his broken ribs.

Pierce sighed contently as he felt Ben's mana run through his body. He really liked the feel of it. Closing his eyes he relaxed while Ben accelerated the healing a little bit like he had done yesterday. It was the reason he had been able to leave the bed today.

Without really realising it, he laid his own hand on top of Ben's. Ben's hand was warm and soft. Pierce noticed that their hands fit perfectly. He felt completely at ease at the moment. A comfortable tingling made itself known in his stomach. It felt nice.

"Uh. Could you let my hand go?" Ben requested, stammering and blushing. Pierce's eyes snapped open and only now did he notice that his hand was on top of Ben's. He quickly withdrew his hand. Ben got up as soon as his hand was free and fled the room leaving behind a confused Pierce.

* * *

Ben leaned against the counter in the kitchen supporting himself with his arms. He wasn't exactly sure why he had run away from Pierce. The only thing he knew was that he felt something for the older teen. What was happening to him? What was that strange feeling which was present whenever he thought of Pierce? Not knowing the answer to these questions scared him.

He sighed heavily. He knew there was no reason to be scared. After all, the feelings he had for the hybrid seemed to be of a good nature. And yet he was still scared of them. It was probably because it was the first time he felt such an intense feeling for another person and did not know what these feelings were.

'_I wish I could help. Unfortunately I have never experienced such feelings since I have only recently discovered my abilities to feel emotions_,' sounded the voice of the Omnitrix in his head. They had resolved their differences during the week that followed the battle against Vilgax. The Omnitrix had forgiven Ben and Ben had promised to never try hacking it again.

'_It's alright. I think, I overreacted a little,_' Ben said with another sigh. There was so much on his mind. These unknown feeling he had for Pierce, Pierce's injuries and Kevin being stuck in his current form. The past few days had been very relaxing for his body, but he couldn't say the same about his mind. The second issue would be solved within the next three days, but the other two were probably going to take a while. He needed to figure out something to give his mind a break.

'_Why don't you go for a long walk?_' the Omnitrix suggested with its mechanical voice.

'_I don't feel right about leaving him alone,_' Ben replied hesitantly. It wasn't that he didn't trust Pierce, but the hybrid was still injured. The Omnitrix enquired what he meant by that. The brunette explained that he had the feeling that something bad was going to happen to the older teen if he left him alone for too long. Although Pierce was recovering fast thanks to Ben's help, he would still be in a bad situation, should he be attacked. Ben had his share of enemies and some of them wouldn't hesitate to attack Pierce in his current situation in order to get to Ben. He had learned to expect the worst cases over the course of the years.

* * *

Pierce was still on the couch, though he had switched into a sitting position. He was still trying to understand what had happened a few minutes ago. Why had Ben run away? More importantly, why did Ben run away from him?

Pierce remembered the shocked expression on the younger teen's face before he had stormed off.

It hurt him. He didn't like it when Ben seemed afraid of him. The blue-eyed hybrid felt like Ben was the most important thing in the world to him. Of course, Helen was still very important to him, too, but Ben seemed to contest her claim to that position. The feelings he had for the brunette were stronger than those he had for his adoptive sister.

_Love_, Pierce suddenly thought. He knew he loved Helen as a sister and his teammates like friends. He also knew that he felt some kind of love for Ben. But was it really the kind of love he was thinking about? The romantic kind of love?

Pierce wasn't sure what he should think about this matter. It wasn't the fact that they were both male, that was bothering him. It was the first time he experienced these kinds of feelings. The hybrid thought that maybe it was just a crush and nothing serious. However, deep down, he knew that it wasn't a simple crush. He just wasn't ready to admit it.

Pierce decided to put the matter aside for the time being. First he had to find Ben and apologise. By now it was clear to him that Ben had run because of what Pierce had done. Pierce got up carefully and made his way to the kitchen. He figured he should look there first since it was the direction Ben had fled into.

When he rounded the corner he saw Ben leaning against the counters, his head resting against the cupboards. It was difficult to miss the distress on the hero's face. Pierce felt slightly guilty, knowing he was part of the reason for the younger one's distress.

"Ben?" Pierce asked softly, not wanting to scare Ben anymore than he had already done. Ben's face snapped around in surprise. He had been so engrossed with his thoughts that he hadn't noticed Pierce coming in. There was an awkward silence between them.

"I'm sorry," Pierce said with a guilty look on his face. Ben's face took on a confused look.

"What for?" Ben enquired, tilting his head slightly. Pierce found that action really cute. If the situation wasn't so serious he would have actually voiced this.

"I didn't want to scare you," Pierce responded gently. Ben blinked several times before he understood to what Pierce was referring. Ben let out a small chuckle, surprising the older teen with it.

"No, I have to apologise as well. I overreacted," Ben snickered. In the back of his mind he heard the Omnitrix making a teasing comment, but he ignored it. Pierce held out his fist to the green-eyed teen. Ben smiled happily and made his own fist connect with Pierce's, drawing a warm smile from him.

Right now, both of them felt at ease, happy to have resolved the small problem for now. Neither of them were imagining the danger, which was lurking around and waiting for them.

* * *

Chapter four finished. It's a bit shorter than the last one, but I hope you enjoyed it anyways. As always, comments and critique are welcomed ^^


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